Business Award Presented to Chinese Entrepreneur During Daphne Visit

A prestigious international business award was presented to one of China’s most powerful sports business leaders during his visit to Daphne Thursday night.

Peter Tichansky, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), presented the Dwight D. Eisenhower Global Award for Sport to Guo Jie, President of WorldTeam Sports, at the home of United States Sports Academy President and CEO, Dr. Thomas P. Rosandich.

Jie was in Daphne to receive an honorary doctorate from the Academy, which was presented to him on the Academy’s Daphne campus the following afternoon.

The BCIU is a leading business association established by President Eisenhower in 1955. This award has been presented to international business leaders for more than 25 years.

“Dwight D. Eisenhower Global Awards recipients represent the finest in entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership on the world’s stage and embody the pioneering view of commercial diplomacy established by BCIU founder President Eisenhower,” Tichansky said.

Jie has been a key player in the business and politics of sport in China in recent years.

He is the inventor of Nine-Star sports shoes, the first sports sponsor of the 11th Asian Games. He helped purchase the first Chinese-owned Formula One racing team, and is a major partner of the NBA operations in China. He could also be called China’s version of Nike founder Phil Knight, because of his chain of sporting goods stores, SportsCube, that has made him a major player in the sporting goods and sports sponsorship industries in the world’s most populous nation.

For 10 years, Guo successfully promoted and marketed the growth of Red Bull in Asia, and guided WorldTeam to the first strategic cooperation agreement with the NBA in China. He also planned and organized the first Chinese yacht sailing that went around the world. He was involved in the agreement to hold the Italian Super Cup preseason soccer matches in China. The first such match, in 2009, drew nearly 90,000 spectators.

Along with being CEO of WorldTeam, he serves as the senior manager of projects and international affairs in the Chinese sports industry, and Vice Chairman of the Tourism Association for Fujian Province. He also serves on the board of directors for the Fujian National Tourism Group.

WorldTeam Sports, formally titled China WorldTeam Investment Holdings Group Limited, is an international sports investment management group, professionally investing in China and other international sports and cultural markets. WorldTeam serves global business partners in the areas of sports projects investment, management, sports facilities, and properties management, and in exploration and development in sports markets, sports marketing, etc. Its main focus is sports commerce, media, real estate, and culture.